Arch Coal cutting 750 workers, idling 3 mines

Arch Coal Inc. said it will cut about 750 full-time employees, or about a tenth of its workforce, as it closes three higher-cost thermal mining complexes and temporarily idles or curtails production at several others in Appalachia, the St. Louis Business Journal reports. The company said the moves are prompted by "the unprecedented downturn in demand for coal-based electricity." Arch said it expects to take a one-time, non-cash asset write-down charge of about $425 million in the second quarter, plus severance and related costs of about $14 million to be taken between the second and third quarters.